Imperfect Angel: The Story of a Secret
by literate dancer
Summary: The summer before his 6th year, James Potter meets his charming and beautiful new neighbor. Everyone, including the devilishly handsome Sirius Black, falls in love with her, but she hides a dark past, and a secret that will shock the world.
1. Chapter 1: Flying With the New Girl

~James~

She let the snitch go. The tiny golden wings fluttered for a few moments, and then it zipped away, disappearing among the beams of sunlight that lit the clearing and the numerous colorful butterflies that flitted about. It seemed practically impossible to track, as the clearing was full of sights and sounds that could easily distract a Seeker. After giving the snitch a good 30 second head start, she sped off.

You might ask what I was doing, spying on a girl who I did not know. Well, first of all, anything about Quidditch interests me. Anything. Second, this girl is my new neighbor. My parents sent me over to introduce myself and I spotted her getting out a broom, which of course instantly sparked my interest. So, I decided to keep my presence unknown and see just how good this girl was. Surprisingly, she was excellent, at least from my initial impression. She flew out here to the clearing (which is a good mile away from her house) with undeniable grace and elegance. I knew instantly that this girl was a good flyer.

Anyways, not long after she released the snitch, I heard the sound of a broom rustling through the air, accompanied by this girl swooping into the clearing holding the snitch in her hand. Its wings trembled a bit, as if it was a small bird trying to free itself from its captor. Deciding now was the time to reveal myself; I walked into the clearing, clapping as she landed.

"Impressive. That couldn't have been more than 10 minutes, and with a 30 second head start, too." For the first time, I got a good look at her. She had alabaster white skin and shiny, straight raven-black hair that cascaded down her back to her waist. Full, petal pink lips and a strong, straight nose set off the second most beautiful pair of eyes I had ever seen. They were large and wide-set, and at the moment a dancing light blue-grey. She was tall, too, around 5'8" or 5'9". Her body was willowy and slender, with long, toned legs that seemed to go on forever, a flat stomach, and a few curves in all the right places. She was striking, to say the least.

Narrowing her eyes as if searching me for any signs of danger, she said, "Thank you. I like to consider myself a passable Quidditch player." Her voice had a bit of pride in it, a feeling of aristocracy. I could see it as well in the way she stood, with her head up and her shoulders back. She carried herself with a bit of arrogance, a bit of haughtiness, however modest her words may have seemed.

"Passable? That was brilliant! So who are you?"

"Ashlina." I waited for her to give her last name, but she remained silent.

"James. James Potter," I said, extending my hand out to her. She looked a bit hesitant for a moment, but reached out and took my hand, shaking it.

"Come on, why don't we go back to my place?"

I agreed and started on the path back to her house. She looked at me oddly and said, "You don't think that I'm going to walk all the way back do you? C'mon," she gestured to her broom, "get on."

I got on behind her, and with an air of impatience, she huffed, "I'm not waiting all day so you better hold on tight." Awkwardly, I put my hands on her incredibly small waist. She turned and looked at me, rolling her eyes but laughing. "Tighter."

So, I wrapped my arms around her middle and scooted a bit further forward on the broom. "There we go," she said. She pushed off the ground, and suddenly started rocketing into the sky at an incredibly fast pace.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" My eyes watered and my glasses pressed painfully into my nose as we sped up higher and higher into the sky."

She laughed, a little maniacally. "Having fun! I told you to hang on tight! Here we gooooo!"

I tightened my grip just in time for her to go into a steep dive. As we plummeted through the clouds, the few locks of her hair that I had not pinned against her back with my body flew back and whipped in the wind, stinging me in the face. Just as we cleared the last few clouds, I realized that we were on a direct collision course with the trees in the forest outside of the clearing. I shut my eyes and braced for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes and found she had navigated us cleverly through one of the small gaps between the treetops, and still plummeting. When we were about 2 feet from hitting the ground, she abruptly leveled out and zigzagged in between the numerous trees and plant. I could've easily reached down and touched the ground.

"Alright there so far?" she shouted over the whistling wind.

"Absolutely dandy," I shouted back, half lying and half telling the truth. As we sped through the forest, I caught glimpses of animals like howling coyotes, scampering rabbits, peaceful deer and even a majestic stag once, all blurred with the soft golden light and green foliage that seemed to be everywhere. Soon, however, the trees began to thin out and within 30 seconds we were fast approaching her sprawling mansion of a house.

When we were no more than 100 feet away from what I assumed to be her broom shed, she suddenly did a roll, catching me off guard and almost throwing me off. We slowed to a stop and dismounted her broom.

"Well," I panted, my voice rather shaky, "you certainly did a good job at trying to throw me off."

"I assure you that was never my intention," she said, laughing, "Although you did a fine job hanging on." I studied her face closely as she said this, and noticed that her previously silvery blue eyes were now a bright, sparkling turquoise.

"You know, when I first saw you your eyes were definitely a different color than they are now," I said, pointing out the change in her appearance.

"Yes, that happens. I have a miniscule amount of Metamorphagus blood in me. My eyes are the only things that change, and I have no control over it whatsoever. It depends completely on my emotions."

"Well then you should definitely laugh more, because you look absolutely beautiful when you do." I smiled at her, letting her know I wasn't joking. She opened her mouth to say something, but she shut it again, smiling in return.

A slightly awkward moment of silence passed between us, before she said, "Let's go inside, I'm longing for a shower and I'm absolutely starving."

I nodded. "C'mon, I'll race you to the door," and sped off. She was right beside me, and we laughed as we ran toward her house. We arrived breathless and panting on the stone steps, reveling in the slightly cooler shade, a relief after being in the hot sun. She opened the door, grabbed my hand, and led me inside. We walked into a huge space that was painted a soft cream color with enormously tall ceilings and an elaborate crystal chandelier overhead. Golden lamps on the walls encircled us and two winding spiral staircases of gilded white marble stood on opposite sides of the space, and two hallways led further in on this floor.

"Alright, what you need to do is go up this staircase," she gestured to the one on the left, "take the third door, go down that hallway and enter the fifth room on your right. There will be clothes there waiting for you as well as anything you would need for a bath or shower. Feel free to use anything you see. When you are done, come back here and I should be waiting for you. If I'm not, just wait. DO NOT go anywhere." I nodded my head, and started up the left staircase as she went up the right.

~Ashlina~

I let the water envelope me, sighing in pleasure as the sweat was washed from my skin. Grabbing a violet colored bottle that I had placed on the tub's side, I poured a small amount into the bathwater. Immediately, the scent of jasmine, freesia, roses, orchids mellowed by sandalwood and musk, and sweetened with warm vanilla and caramel filled the air. I breathed deeply, it was my favorite scent. Touching my finger to a small circle on the side of the tub, I laid back and let the enchanted tub wash my hair and body. I smiled and closed my eyes; this was one of my favorite parts of the day.

As I was relaxing, an image of James popped into my mind. He intrigued me; I had to admit that I hadn't met anyone like him in a long time. He was light and carefree, charming and amusing, but it seemed like there… was something more. I shook my head, clearing him from my thoughts. I didn't want to get involved with him, at least not quite yet. I had to see what he was like with other people, what he was like at school.

School. I still need to go shopping for supplies, I thought. Soon, the never-ending relaxation of summer would be replaced with the stress and work of Hogwarts. I loved it at Hogwarts, though, the knowledge that just about anything was possible there, that you were going to find something new around every corner. There was just such a unique spirit there, and I understood why so many thought of it as home. I still remembered all my teachers, though I knew things had changed since last time. Dumbledore was Headmaster now, Dippet was dead, and McGonagall is even a teacher now. Stop thinking about that, I chided myself, that was then. You must not give away the secret.

Deciding it was time to get out, I tapped the button once more and the water disappeared and the tub was instantly dry and sparkling. As I stepped out, a fluffy white towel wrapped itself around me and started drying me off. A set of clothes flew towards me, and I stopped to examine what my closet had chosen for me. I was puzzled. The thin, light blue t-shirt and fitted white short shorts were fine, but why the underwear? Instead of the basic white bra and underwear I expected, I found myself holding a black push-up bra trimmed with pink lace and a matching black thong that was, yes indeed, also trimmed with the dreaded pink lace. I shrugged, and put on the clothes, then looked in the mirror. Neither of the undergarments was visible unless I stretched or bent over, and I wasn't about to argue with my closet who had always served me well, so I picked up my wand, muttered a quick charm so that my hair was somewhat dry and wouldn't get my t-shirt wet and walked out the door.

When I reached the stairs, he was already waiting at the bottom. He was leaning against the banister lazily, and his hair was no less messy than it had been right after we got off the broom. He looked up and smiled at me; I smiled back, and impulsively threw my legs over the edge and slid down the railing. Just before I got to the end, he stepped in front of the stairs and caught me, one hand on the small of my back, the other underneath my legs. Suddenly, he tossed me up in the air, and I shrieked in surprise as I was airborne. He caught me, and I laughed, "Put me down before you drop me!" Hearing this, he dropped me a few feet before catching me again, then complied with my wishes and let me go.

~James~

She smelled heavenly, even though I could tell she wasn't wearing perfume. The scent of flowers with a hint of vanilla clung to her, and mixed with the scent of her skin. As I put her down, my hand slid up a bit and brushed the smooth curve of her hip. Impulsively, I slid my hand up her shorts and snapped the thin fabric against her skin before letting her stand up. She turned around and looked at me with one eyebrow raised, but an amused expression on her face.

"You know, it's a little too soon for you to be feeling up my ass and trying to find out what kind of underwear I'm wearing."

"I believe in seizing the moment."

"You can do whatever else you feel like sometime later. Meanwhile, I would like to take you on a little tour of the house, so you don't end up getting lost."

"I'm going to hold you to that," I said, smirking at her. She merely smirked back and arched her eyebrow more.

"Really? We'll see. Come." She started walking towards the hallway on the right. I followed, transfixed by the fluid swaying motion of her hips. The rest of my summer was definitely going to be interesting…


	2. Chp 2:A Most Beautiful Form of Movement

Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides Ashlina and the plot.

A/N- The first picture is how I imagined Ashlina's face to look like, and the second is her from a distance. If you have a picture that you think fits her, please message me to let me know or post a review with a link to the page.

~Ashlina~

_**Without dance I cannot feel my soul, hear my heart, or see my dreams. **_  
-Nahara-

Chapter 2: A Most Beautiful Form of Movement

"_I'm going to hold you to that," I said, smirking at her. She merely smirked back and arched her eyebrow more._

"_Really? We'll see. Come." She started walking towards the hallway on the right. I followed, transfixed by the fluid swaying motion of her hips. The rest of my summer was definitely going to be interesting…_

~Ashlina~

I led him through the hallway, completely aware of the fact that he was ogling my ass. It made me slightly uncomfortable, but yet it was still amusing. I smirked; it wasn't as if he could see me. I contemplated calling him out, weighing the good and bad of both options.

"Tsk, tsk James, such a perverse little boy."

"Oh really? What did I do now?"

I spun around, still smirking. "Is a certain part of my body really an object of such fascination to you?" I smiled at him, putting just enough condescending into the smile to outweigh the sugary-sweetness. He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. "How about a business proposition? I am tired of this witty banter, as fun as it might be. I stop attacking your pride and wounding your dignity, and you stop making up double entendres and trying things you should not be. Deal?"

He gave me a little smile. "Deal."

"Good. Now we can actually begin the tour." I led him through the typical rooms; kitchen, bathrooms, living room, parlor, dining room, ballroom, etc. He politely marveled at each, commenting on the architectural beauty and charm of the place. "Well," I said, "that was just the beginning. Now I can start showing you the places that I actually like." With that, I led him into the sunroom. It was painted in a soft, creamy gold and plush white couches were arranged around coffee tables of glass and white marble. The carpet was the same pristine white as the couches, and the ceiling and walls of the room were made of glass, separated only by the large French doors. Sheer, ivory colored chiffon-like curtains that were edged in white lace draped across the door. Bouquets of lightest pink carnations and roses, white lilies and orchids, and butter-y yellow or champagne colored tulips and daffodils were scattered tastefully around the room in white vases of ceramic and wicker while rose petals in all three shades were scattered around each bouquet. The whole room had a feeling of light and freedom.

"Wow," he whispered, "this is beautiful."

"I know," I responded, "it's so relaxing eating breakfast in here or watching the sunrise." He walked around the room, marveling in the various textures of plush carpet, leather couches, cool ceramic, and the smoothness of a rose petal. "Ready to move on?" I asked, a soft smile playing around my lips. He nodded, and followed after me as I led him to my ballet studio. Each of the four sides of the room was covered in a single mirror, letting you move around without your reflection being broken. A double barre in simple wood was mounted a few inches away from the wall on three sides of the studio, with the first barre three feet off the ground and the second four inches about that. A small nook tucked away on the left side of the studio housed my movable barres and sound equipment. The floor was covered in a continuous sheet of gleaming white vinyl.

I waved my hand, pointing it at the CD player, and music began to play. I began to dance, not listening to the music, but letting it flow through me, letting it tell my body what to do. It became a part of me, as I started with a simple _glissade assemblé_ combination that led me into a side entrance double _pirouette _and a _tour jeté._ Still in the _arabesque_ that finished my _tour jeté,_ I brought my leg into _retiré_ and extended it out so my foot was level with my waist as I rose onto _relevé. _I stayed there for a moment, tilting my head toward my arm that was extended outward in second position. Then, I dropped my right leg that was raised into a _tendu à la seconde,_ and brought my leg around in a _demi rond de jambe_ to first position and executed a frontal _grande battement_ with my left leg, then swung it back down and up again into _attitude_ _derriére_ as I rose onto _relevé _once again. I turned a full circle while my body appeared perfectly still (something I had learned recently), then stopped as the music paused. As the musicians went through a run that slowly increased in speed, I matched their pace to my turns, starting with _piqués_, and switching to _chaînés_ as the run progressed, and as the section increased in energy, I started adding leaps and turns and culminating with _fouetté en tournant _into a _grande jeté_ as the section ended. I waved my hand once more, the music stopped, and I heard clapping.

"That was… amazing. I've never seen anything like it before, it was just… so free and graceful and poetic."

I simply replied, "Ballet is the most beautiful form of movement." I studied him; his expression was filled with a sort of quiet respect and admiration, and something else that was unreadable. He murmured something under his breath. Curious, I asked him, "What was that?"

He murmured again, so quietly that it was just barely distinguishable even in the silence, "Lily is a dancer, too. A ballerina. My ballerina." I was curious, but didn't press as it didn't seem to be a topic he wanted to discuss. I wondered who this Lily was. He said my, so maybe she was his girlfriend. Then, I remembered the expression in his face that seemed almost sad, so I ruled his girlfriend out. Maybe she was his ex-girlfriend, I thought, that would explain the unwillingness he expressed.

A short awkward silence passed, and then I tried to break the tension. "Come on," I said, "I still have more to show you." He followed me silently, still with that unreadable expression, as I led him up six flights of stairs. We twisted and turned through various corridors, until I led him through a narrow hallway. We stopped in front of a small oak double door. I opened the door, and led him out onto the balcony as his jaw dropped in amazement. I let him take it in, the beauty of the view. I whispered to him quietly, not wanting to ruin this moment, "This is my favorite view, especially at sunrise and sunset. I'll have to show you some time." He nodded, and continued to stare at the view. I wasn't even sure he heard me.

After a good fifteen minutes of watching, I gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on" I said, "There's a lot more that I want to show you, but one more room that you need to see." I led him back down all the flights of stairs, through the hallway, and stopped right where we had begun: in front of the staircase. I spun around, making eye contact with him as directly as I could.

"I have to explain to you something. This is something that I haven't shown anyone. I know I haven't been here that long, but I personally planned and designed every aspect of this house and had it reviewed by a number of people, all who I have known for years and trust with my life. Never for a moment did I even consider showing them this room, and it was not a last minute edition. This room was the very first thing that I planned. Do not expect to understand how it works, but don't worry, there is nothing that will harm you in here if you are the kind of person that I take you to be."

Then, with a wave of my wand I blindfolded him.

A/N- Sorry about the long wait and how short the chapter is, I kinda got stuck . Anyways, the next chapter will be meeting James parents, the rest of the summer, and a very brief appearance of the other Marauders and some of my own characters at the end of the chapter. Chapter 3 will be them starting at Hogwarts.

I also have this up on , so if you want to message me there, that's fine. From now on, I will be putting up another photo, typically about dance and a quote that goes along with the chapter. Thanks for the support!

Love,

literate_dancer


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